Roll cooling means



March 3, 1936. A. B. MONTGOMERY 2,033,046

ROLL COOLING MEANS Fil'ed Oct. 21,"1933- 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Mar h 3, 1936- A. B. MONTGOMERY ROLLY COOLING MEANS Filed Oct. 21, 1933- 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

INVENTOR N rr 1 P 5- 1 fi ROLL COOLING 8 Alonzo B.

signor to The Cold Youngstown, Ohio, a

Application October 21,

3 I I 2., 1 i

My invention relates in general to the art of metal rolling and, in particular, to the cold r011- ing of sheet metal in strip form.

The method of cold rolling sheet metal in strip form, as disclosed and claimed in Steckel Patents Nos. 1,744,018 and 1,779,195, has been universally accepted as representing the most advanced stage of the art of manufacturing sheet metal, to date. In the manufacture of sheet metal by this method and apparatus, certain special problems have been recognized. It is necemary, for example, that the temperature of the backing rolls of the four-high roller bearing mill usually employed be maintained uniform, to avoid distortion of 'the shape of the pass between the working rolls. The eilect of changes in the temperature of mill rolls has long been observed in hot mills for the manufacture of sheets according to the conventional sheet and pair method, and frequent attempts have been made to control the temperatures of the rolls of both hot and cold mills. All these attempts with which I am familiar, however, have beensuccessiul only a degree, and numerous objections thereto have been encountered.

It has been the practice heretofore, for exam- D sprays adapted to direct a fluid onto the rolls. It has also been suggested to provide the roll neck bearings and the rolls themselves with water jackets. Jets or sprays are obviously unsatis- "factory because they cannot, from their very nature, maintain a uniform temperature along the length of a roll or around its circumference,

since each jet or spray is effective only in alim ited area. The practical difiiculties in connection with the use of water jackets for mill rolls have substantially precluded their use heretofore, although a proposal along this line datesback many years. The results obtained with cooling jackets for rolls as known heretofore have not justifled their application toany considerable extent.

An attempt has also been made to provide automatic control of the flow of cooling. fluid over the rolls of the mill by measuring the temperature of the rolls. This proposal has met with only very limited approval, principally because of practical difllculties and complexities of the apparatus involved, but shows the lengths to which the rolling art has gone in an attempt to solve satisfactorily the problem of controlling the temperatures of mill rolls. j

I have invented a rolling method and apparatus which largely overcome the above mento provide rolling mills with cooling jets or Montgomery, Yon Metal Gem, orporation ofi 0 (or. a)

tioned objections to previous practice along this line. My invention involves the use of a cooling jacket, but diilers from the prior apparatus of this character in that it provides a thin, continuously flowing him of liquid coolant extending 5 substantially continuously around the backing rolls of a four-high mill and uniformly from end to end thereof. The film also surrounds at least a major portion of the periphery of the working rolls and insures the maintenance of both 10 backing and wormng rolls at a constant temperature which is uniform along their length. My invention further contemplates the rolling of. strip in a four-high mill and reeling the strip emerging from the mill over a cooled sheave or it into a cooling bath, and apparatus for that pur- For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings-illustrating a present preferred embodi- 20 ment thereof and the practice of the method. In the drawings- Figure 1 is an elevation of high mill, having the invention applied thereto, 4 the roll housings and other parts being omitted 25 for the sake of clearness; 4

Figure 2 is a sectional view substantially along the line Ill-l1 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a partial sectional view along the line III-III of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a partial view similar to Figure 2, showing a portion of the latter to enlarged scale, and taken substantially along the line lv- -Iv of Figure 1, and I Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view illustratin the apparatus and method of cooling the strip emerging from the mill.

Referring now-in detail to the drawin the backing rolls of a four-high mm, P ferably of the roller bearing type, are illusizated at iii and ii. The wormng rolls are shown at M and i3. Guides I! direct material to and Irom the pass between the workingrolls. The remaining dethe rolls of a fourtails of the mill structure are not part of the to the portions l9 and 20 adiacent their Junction to .maintain them in proper relative position. Each shell has an'inlet 22 for cooling fluid.

Packing rings 23 adjacent the ends of shells form a closed space peripherally of the rolls for the cooling fluid introduced through the inlets 22. Similar packing 24 is provided for the ends of the portions of the shells embracing the working roll.- Edge packing 25 for the latter is also provided. Spaces 26 between the rings 23 and the packing 24 permit the escape of the fluid adjacent the ends of the working rolls.

The shells are maintained in position by adjusting screws 21 carried in cross bars 28 secured at opposite ends to the mill housings. The apparatus for the top and bottom rolls is identical and therefore interchangeable.

-Any convenient source of cooling fluid may be connected to the inlets 22. The path of the fluid is indicatedgenerally in dotted lines in Figure 1. From the latter, it will be apparent that the water delivered to each of the inlets 22' spreads out fanwise in a layer or film having a thickness of the space between the rolls and the shells. Fluid travels around the periphery of the backing rolls and thence to the working rolls, from the ends of which it is finally discharged.

It will be apparent that the apparatus described is simple and inexpensive in construction and yet highly effective to provide precisely the type of cooling which is most effective for maintaining the backing and working rolls at the desired temperature, for maintaining uniformity of such temperatu're throughout the rolls. Any desired cooling fluid, of course, may be employed. In a typical example, the cooling jackets or shells extend for substantially the full width of the rolls, and 'entireLv around the backing roll. They also enclose about 65% of the circumference of the working mils. Y

While the invention has been described particularly with reference to cold mills, it is also applicable to hot mills. In the latter application, it has been found that a coolingiacket of the type described embracing only the work roll is sufiicient to insure the desired uniformity of temperature. It may be possible to achieve similar results also in cold mills, or in such case, the jackets may be applied only to the backing rolls.

In addition to maintaining a uniform temperature throughout the rolls, I also contemplate the provision of a-method and apparatus for maintaining the strip as it emerges from the mill at a predetemiined temperature. Referring to Figure 5, a reel 30 driven by any convenient source of power, is located on one side of a four-high mill 3!, the strip emerging from which passes over a. sheave 32 before being wound on the reel. A trough 33 having suitable inlet and outlet connections is positioned below the reel 30 so that the strip being wound on the reel is immersed in the cooling fluid contained in the trough. A hood 34 overlies the strip coiled on the reel to collect and return fluid splashed outof the trough.

An altemative means of cooling is the application of cooling jackets 31 similar to those described for the working and backing rolls, to the sheave 32'. The jacket fl'may be composed of a semi-cylindrical shell, suitable packing rings and fluid inlets as already d scribed in detail.

My invention makes it possible to control accurately the temperature of mill rolls and to maintain a uniform temperature throughout the length thereof. Greater accuracy in the finished product, as well as the absence of the usual defects due to unevenly or excessively heated rolls, are the principal desirable results flowing from the use of the invention. The entire bodies of the mill rolls, both working rolls and backing rolls, as well as the strip being worked, itself, may be maintained at a predetermined temperature by controlling the rate of fluid flow through the apparatus.

The invention also avoids the necessity which has been experienced heretofore of continually backing up the roll adjusting screws with continued operation of the mill. The rolls themselves are maintained at about room temperature, instead of reaching temperatures between 25b and -300 F. as have been experienced in cold rolling .010" strip.

The nature of'the cooling fluid, obviously, is

not material to the present invention. Water or other liquid has proved satisfactory and may be supplied to the shells under pressure by a cir-' 1. A cooling shell for afour-high mill having,

half of one of the backing rolls and a portion of one of the working rolls, an angle'bar secured to the piece adjacent the edge remote from the portion thereof adapted to embrace the working roll, another angle bar secured to the portions of the piece adapted to embrace the "backing and working rolls, respectively, adjacent their junction, packing rings adjacent the ends of the piece, and an inlet connection secured to the piece.

2. In a system for cooling mill rolls, means for supplying a continuous film of coolingfiuid to the periphery of the rolls in opposite directions therearound, means forconfining the fluid between the ends of the roll throughout a major portion of the periphery thereof, said means being cut away to permit discharging the fluid from Y the ends of the roll from a relatively smaller portion of the periphery thereof.

3. A cooling jacket for mill rolls comprising separable sheet metal sections each curved to embrace substantially half the periphery of a 

